BANCROFT 

LIBRARY 

•> 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PERSONAL    NARRATIVES 


OF    THE 


BATTLES  OF  THE  REBELLION 

No.    5. 


KIT    OAJRSOK'S    FIGHT 


WITH      THE 


COMAJSTCHE    AND    KlOWA    INDIANS. 


GEORGE     H.    PETTIS. 


PERSONAL    NARRATIVES 


BATTLES  OF  THE   REBELLION, 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  THE 


RHODE  ISLAND  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS 


HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 


No.   5. 


"  Quaeque  ipse  miserrima  vldi, 
Et  quorum  pars  magna  /«*." 


PROVIDENCE: 
SIDNEY    S.    RIDER. 

1878. 


Copyright  by 
SIDNEY    S.    RIDER. 

1878. 


PRINTED  BY  PROVIDENCE  PRESS  COMPANY, 


KIT   OARSOIPS  FIGHT 


WITH    THE 


GOMANCHE  AND  KlOWA  INDIANS, 


AT  THE  ADOBE  WALLS,  ON  THE  CANADIAN  RIVER, 


NOVEMBER  25TH,  1864. 


BY    GEORGE    II.   PETTIS, 

(Breret  Captain  U.  8.  Volunteers,  late  First  Lieutenant  First  Infantry,  California  Volunteers,  and 
Lieutenant  and  Adjutant  First  Infantry,  New  Mexico  Volunteers.) 


PROVIDENCE  : 
SIDNEY     3 .     RIDER. 

1878. 


Copyright  by 
SIDNEY    S .   RIDER. 

1878. 


KIT    CARSON'S    FIGHT 


WITH   THE 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS. 


THE  summer  of  1864  will  long  be  remembered  by 
our  frontiersmen  as  a  season  when  the  Comanche,  the 
Kiowa,  the  Arapahoe,  the  Cheyenne,  and  the  Plain 
Apache  held  high  carnival  on  our  western  plains. 
From  the  early  spring  of  that  year,  when  the  hardy 
Indian  pony  could  subsist  on  the  growing  grass  of 
the  prairies,  until  late  in  the  fall,  they  committed 
their  depredations,  and  there  was  not  a  week  of  that 
whole  season,  but  that  some  outrage  was  committed 
by  them.  They  seemed  to  have  conceived  the  idea 
that  the  white  man  could  be  exterminated,  and  by 
concerted  action,  and  by  striking  at  different  points, 
to  have  fondly  hoped  that  they  could  once  more 
roam  and  hunt  at  their  pleasure,  free  and  unmolested 


6  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

by  the  white  man's  civilization.  The  determined 
operations  of  the  western  Indians  and  their  con 
certed  action  at  this  time,  has  led  some  to  believe 
that  it  was  a  part  of  the  programme  of,  and  that 
they  had  been  incited  to  this  by,  the  leaders  of  the 
rebellion.  It  seems  plausible,  too,  for  when  the 
grand  old  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  fighting  the  bat 
tles  of  the  Wilderness,  of  Spottsylvania,  (of  North 
Anna,  of  Cold  Harbor,  and  Petersburg,  and  the 
Weldon  Railroad,  Ream's  Station,  Peeble's  Farm, 
and  Boydtown  Road ;  and  Sheridan  had  rode  his 
"twenty  miles  from  Winchester  town,"  and  had 
driven  Early  out  of  the  Shenandoah  valley ;  and 
Sherman  was  fighting  the  battles  that  led  to  the  cap 
ture  of  Atlanta,  the  Indians  were  spreading  havoc 
and  destruction  in  all  directions.  No  trains  crossed 
the  plains  that  season  without  being  attacked,  and 
none  but  those  with  strong  military  escorts  escaped 
capture  and  destruction.  Houses  and  barns  on  the 
frontier  were  fired,  stock  of  all  kinds  was  nowhere 
secure,  large  and  small  parties  were  attacked,  men, 
women,  and  children  murdered.  In  fact,  the  year 
1864  will  be  sadly  remembered  as  long  as  the  pres- 


COMANCHE   AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  7 

ent  generation  of  frontiersmen  lives.  The  command 
ers  of  the  different  military  departments  bordering 
on  this  territory,  had,  with  the  few  men  at  their  com 
mand,  sent  out  during  the  summer  several  expedi 
tions,  as  escorts  to  trains,  but  they  had  accomplished 
no  more  than  to  accord  safety  to  their  different 
charges,  as  the  mode  of  Indian  warfare  is  to  only 
give  battle  when  they  have  all  of  the  advantages.* 

In  the  month  of  October,  1864,  General  James  H. 
Carleton,.then  commanding  the  Department  of  New 
Mexico,  believing  that  the  Comanches  and  Kiowas 
might  be  found,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Canadian 
river,  in  winter  quarters,  issued  a  general  order, 
directing  an  expedition  against  these  Indians.  The 
command  was  ordered  to  consist  as  follows  :  Colo 
nel  Christopher  Carson,  (familiarly  known  as  "Kit 
Carson,")  First  New  Mexico  Cavalry,  commanding ; 
Colonel  Francisco  P.  Abreii,  First  New  Mexico  In- 

*  At  the  reading  of  this  paper,  before  the  Soldiers  and  Sailors  Historical 
Society,  February  14th,  1877,  a  gentleman  who  had  visited  the  Indian  Ter 
ritory  immediately  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  assured  me  that 
the  supposition  that  the  leaders  of  the  late  war  had  incited  the  Indians  to 
commit  their  atrocities  in  1804,  was  founded  on  fact,  he  having  been  so 
informed  by  several  of  the  principal  chiefs  at  that  time.— G.  H.  P. 


8  KIT    CARSON  S    FIGHT    WITH   THE 

fantry ;  Major  William  McCleave,  First  California 
Cavalry;  Captain  Emil  Fritz,  Company  B,  First 
California  Cavalry,  one  officer  and  forty  enlisted 
men ;  Lieutenant  Sullivan  Heath,  Company  K,  First 
California  Cavalry,  one  officer  and  forty  men ;  Cap 
tain  Merriam,  Company  M,  First  California  Cavalry, 
one  officer  and  thirty-four  men ;  Lieutenant  George 
H.  Pettis,  Company  K,  First  California  Infantry, 
one  officer  and  twenty-six  men,  with  two  twelve 
pounder  mountain  howitzers  mounted  on  prairie  car 
riages  ;  Captain  Charles  Deus,  Company  M,  First 
New  Mexico  Cavalry,  two  officers  and  seventy  men ; 
Captain  Joseph  Berney,  Company  D,  First  New 
Mexico  Cavalry,  two  officers  and  thirty-six  men ; 
Company  A,  First  California  Veteran  Infantry,  sev 
enty-five  men ;  Assistant  Surgeon  George  S.  Court- 
right,  United  States  Volunteers,  and  an  officer,  whose 
name  escapes  me,  as  Assistant  Quartermaster  and 
Commissary,  —  numbering,  in  all,  fourteen  officers 
and  three  hundred  and  twenty-one  enlisted  men.  In 
addition  to  the  command,  Colonel  Carson  had  in 
duced  seventy- two  friendly  Indians  (Utes  and  Apa 
ches)  ,  by  promising  them  all  the  plunder  that  they 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA   INDIANS.  9 

might  acquire,  to  join  the  expedition.  These  Utes 
and  Apaches  are  known  among  frontiersmen  as 
"Mountain  Indians,"  in  contradistinction  to  the 
"Plain  Indians,"  and  make  their  homes  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  to  the  north  and  west  of  the  Mexican 
town  of  Don  Fernando  de  Taos.  As  Carson  had 
been  their  agent  at  one  time,  and  they  knowing  him 
well,  he  had  little  difficulty  in  inducing  them  to  join 
him  on  an  expedition  against  their  old  enemies. 

The  troops  mentioned  above  were  stationed  at  dif 
ferent  posts  in  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  and 
they  were  ordered  to  rendezvous  at  Fort  Bascom,  a 
frontier  post  on  the  Canadian  river  near  the  bounda 
ry  line  of  Texas,  on  the  fourth  of  November.  The 
Quartermaster  had  received  his  supplies  in  a  train  of 
twenty -seven  wagons  and  an  ambulance,  and  the 
morning  of  the  sixth  of  November  found  the  com 
mand  ready  to  stretch  out,  the  horses  having  all  been 
well  shod,  and  after  some  difficulty  in  crossing  the 
Canadian  river,  to  the  north  side,  the  expedition  was 
well  on  the  war  path  before  noon,  and  went  into 
camp  that  night  at  the  mouth  of  Ute  creek,  near  the 
boundary  line  of  New  Mexico  and  Texas.  From  this 


10 

time  the  command  moved  on  from  day  to  day,  with 
only  such  incidents  as  usually  accompany  such  expe 
ditions,  except  that  it  was  a  new  country  to  most  of 
us,  as  our  campaigning  had  never  extended  to  the 
plains  before  this  time,  we  heretofore  having  ope 
rated  against  the  Navajoe  and  Apache  Indians  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  Rio  Grande,  extending 
our  scouting  at  times  into  the  eastern  and  northern 
parts  of  Arizona.  On  our  third  or  fourth  day  out 
from  Fort  Bascom,  we  passed  the  vicinity  where  Kit 
Carson  had,  fifteen  or  twenty  years  before  this  time, 
pursued  a  marauding  band  of  Comanches,  who  had 
attacked  a  wagon  train  near  Fort  Union  in  New  Mex 
ico  ;  all  the  men  of  the  train  had  been  killed,  includ 
ing  a  Mr.  White,  an  American,  whose  wife  and  child 
had  been  taken  prisoners.  Carson,  who  was  in  that 
vicinity  at  the  time,  organized  a  party  and  proceeded 
on  the  trail,  and  after  several  days,  had  come  up  to 
them  at  this  point.  They  being  well  into  their  own 
country  had  not  anticipated  being  pursued  so  far. 
The  party  of  whites  attacked  them  at  early  dawn, 
drove  them  from  their  camp,  and  found  only  the 
reeking  bodies  of  Mrs.  White  and  her  child,  still 


COMANCHE    AND   KIOWA    INDIANS.  11 

warm,  with  their  life's  blood  slowly  ebbing  away,  the 
Indians  having,  as  is  usual  with  them,  at  the  first 
sound  of  the  attack,  perforated  the  bodies  of  their 
prisoners  with  spears  and  arrows.  Carson  explained 
to  us  how  their  attack  was  made,  the  position  of  the 
Indian  camp,  where  the  bodies  were  found,  etc.,  in 
his  usual  graphic  manner. 

The  Indians  with  our  command,  on  every  night 
after  making  camp,  being  now  on  the  war  path,  in 
dulged  in  their  war  dance,  which,  although  new  to 
most  of  us,  became  almost  intolerable,  it  being  kept 
up  each  night  until  nearly  daybreak,  and  until  we 
became  accustomed  to  their  groans  and  howlings 
incident  to  the  dance,  it  was  impossible  to  sleep. 
Each  morning  of  our  march,  two  of  our  Indians 
would  be  sent  ahead  several  hours  before  we  started, 
who  would  return  to  camp  at  night  and  report.  On 
the  fifteenth  we  arrived  and  made  camp  at  the 
Canada  de  los  Ruedes,  or  Wheel  Gulch,  so  called 
from  the  fact  that  years  before,  when  New  Mexico 
was  a  State  of  old  Mexico,  the  Mexican  trains  on 
their  way  to  the  States  for  goods,  with  their  carretas, 
or  ox  carts,  usually  remained  over  here  for  repairs, 


12  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

and  as  the  cottonwood  trees  were  larger  than  at  any 
other  point  on  their  route,  they  could  obtain  such  a 
supply  of  new  wheels  as  their  necessities  required — 
hence  the  name  of  "  Canada  de  los  Ruedes." 

We  had  up  to  this  time  followed  on  the  old  Mexi 
can  road  from  New  Mexico,  the  first  party  that  had 
passed  over  it  for  years,  as  it  had  been  long  in  dis 
use,  the  usual  route  being  by  way  of  the  Cimmaron 
and  Arkansas  rivers,  several  hundred  miles  farther 
north.  Near  this  point,  the  old  wagon  road  left  the 
valley  of  the  Canadian,  and  turned  abruptly  to  the 
north,  while  we,  keeping  to  the  right,  found  an  old, 
unused  Indian  trail,  which  kept  in  the  direction  of 
the  Canadian.  We  had  been  fortunate  in  having 

o 

good  weather,  for  the  season  of  the  year,  and  some 
thing  very  unusual  in  scouting  on  the  frontier,  we 
had  been  successful  in  finding  plenty  of  water,  both 
for  the  men  and  for  our  animals. 

On  the  afternoon  of  November  twenty -fourth, 
after  a  short  march  of  eighteen  miles,  we  made  camp 
at  Mule  Spring,  having  marched  through  the  State 
of  Texas  and  arrived  in  the  western  part  of  the 
Indian  Territory.  Up  to  this  time  no  indications  of 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  13 

hostile  Indians  had  been  observed,  although  Carson 
made  good  use  of  his  many  years  of  frontier  expe 
rience,  by  keeping  his  Indian  scouts  well  out  on 
either  flank.  We  had  arrived  at  Mule  Spring  early 
in  the  afternoon ;  had  performed  our  usual  camp 
duties,  and  as  the  sun  was  about  setting,  many  of 
us  being  at  supper,  we  were  surprised  to  see  our 
Indians,  who  were  lying  around  the  camp,  some 
gambling,  some  sleeping,  and  others  waiting  for 
something  to  eat  from  the  soldiers'  mess,  spring  to 
their  feet,  as  if  one  man,  and  gaze  intently  to  the 
eastward,  talking  in  their  own  language  quite  excit 
edly.  Upon  questioning  Colonel  Carson,  why  this 
tumult  among  our  Indians,  he  informed  us  that  the 
two  scouts  that  he  had  dispatched  that  morning,  had 
found  the  Comanches,  and  were  now  returning  to 
report  the  particulars.  Although  the  returning 
scouts  were  at  least  two  miles  distant,  and,  mounted 
on  their  ponies,  were  hardly  discernible,  yet  the 
quick,  sharp  eye  of  our  Indians  made  them  out  with 
out  difficulty.  I  must  confess  that  I  failed  to  see 
them,  until  an  Indian  pointed  out  to  me,  away  off  on 
the  hill-side,  two  mere  specks  moving  towards  our 


14  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

camp.  And  what  was  more  remarkable,  they  had, 
by  a  single  shout,  in  that  rarefied,  electrical  atmos 
phere,  conveyed  the  intelligence  that  they  had  found 
the  enemy,  and  that  ^ork  was  to  be  done.  But  a 
short  time  elapsed  before  the  two  scouts  arrived,  and 
rode  leisurely  through  camp,  without  answering  any 
questions  or  giving  any  information,  until  they  had 
found  the  Colonel,  when  they  reported  that  they 
had,  about  ten  miles  in  advance,  found  indications 
that  a  large  body  of  Indians  had  moved  that  morn 
ing,  with  a  very  large  herd  of  horses  and  cattle,  and 
that  we  would  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  all  the 
Indians  that  we  desired.  Carson  immediately  or 
dered  all  the  cavalry,  and  the  section  of  mountain 
howitzers,  to  be  ready  to  move  without  delay.  The 
Infantry,  Company  A,  First  California  Infantry,  un 
der  command  of  Colonel  Abreu,  was  ordered  to 
remain  as  escort  to  the  wagon  train,  which  was  to 
stay  in  camp  that  night,  and  on  the  morrow  was  to 
move  on  and  follow  the  trail  of  the  command,  until 
they  overtook  it. 

Just   before   dark,    Carson,    with   his    command, 
moved  out  of  camp,  in  light  marching  order,  with 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  15 

strict  orders  that,  during  the  night  march,  there 
should  be  no  talking  or  smoking.  Before  twelve, 
we  had  descended  again  into  the  valley  of  the  Cana 
dian,  which  we  had  left  four  days  before,  and  had 
also  found  in  the  dark,  the  deep-worn,  fresh  trail  of 
the  hostile  Indians.  At  this  time,  we  believed  that 
we  were  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  enemy,  and 
as  nothing  of  their  position  was  known  to  us,  it  was 
deemed  prudent  to  remain  where  we  were,  and  move 
on  again  just  before  daylight.  This  halt  was  very 
tedious.  As  I  said  before,  no  talking  was  allowed, 
(the  few  orders  that  were  necessary,  were  given  in  a 
whisper,)  lighting  of  pipes  and  smoking  was  prohib 
ited  ;  each  officer  and  soldier  upon  halting,  only 
dismounted,  and  remained  holding  his  horse  by  the 
bridle  rein  until  morning  ;  and  to  add  to  our  discom 
forts  a  heavy  frost  fell  during  the  night. 

As  the  first  grey  streaks  of  dawn  appeared  in  the 
eastern  skies,  we  mounted  our  horses,  and  proceeded 
on  our  new-found  trail.  Our  order  of  march  was, 
first  on  the  right,  Colonel  Carson  in  company  with 
the  Utes  and  Apaches,  who  generally  kept  no  reg 
ular  order ;  next  came  about  one-half  of  the  cav- 


16  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

airy  force  ;  then  the  section  of  mountain  howitzers  ; 
the  balance  of  the  cavalry  bringing  np  the  rear.  We 
had  been  moving  but  a  few  minutes,  when  I  was  in 
formed  that  Carson  wished  to  see  me  at  the  head  of 
the  column.  I  urged  my  horse  forward  as  quietly 
as  I  could,  and  reported  to  him.  As  I  did  so,  I  re 
marked  the  funny  appearance  of  his  Indians,  all  of 
whom  were  mounted  in  their  own  peculiar  manner, 
with  their  knees  drawn  up  nearly  at  right  angles, 
and  being  cold,  they  were  each  of  them  enveloped  in 
their  buffalo  robes,  standing  high  above  their  heads, 
and  fastened  by  a  belt  at  their  waist.  Such  a  sight 
was  ludicrous  in  the  extreme.  Carson  commenced 
to  say  to  me,  in  his  own  quaint  way:  "I  had  a 
dream  the  night  before,  of  being  engaged  with  a 
large  number  of  Indians  ;  your  camions  were  firing," 
— at  this  point  of  his  recital,  we  heard  a  voice  in 
Spanish,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  cry  out 
"Bene-aca,"  "Bene-aca," — "Come  here,"  "Come 
here."  We  knew  that  we  had  found  a  picket  of  the 
enemy.  Carson  hastily  ordered  Major  McCleave, 
and  B  Company  California  Cavalry,  with  one  of  the 
New  Mexican  detachments,  to  cross  the  river,  as  it 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  17 

was  easily  forded.  Our  Indians,  who  had  been  rid 
ing  leisurely  along,  at  the  first  cry  charged  into  a 
clump  of  chapparel  which  was  near  by,  and  in  a  mo 
ment,  as  it  seemed,  came  riding  out  again,  com 
pletely  divested  of  buffalo  robes  and  all  their  cloth 
ing,  with  their  bodies  covered  with  war  paint,  and 
war  feathers  in  abundance,  and  giving  a  war-whoop 
they  dashed  wildly,  into  the  river  to  wards  the  enemy. 
I  was  wondering  at  the  wonderful  transformation  of 
our  Indians,  entirely  forgetful  of  the  enemy,  when 
Carson  gave  orders  for  us  to  move  down  on  our  side 
of  the  river,  he  being  satisfied  that  the  village  would 
be  found  within  a  short  distance. 

A  few  shots  were  fired  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  and  we  soon  saw  by  the  early  morning  light, 
the  enemy's  picket,  consisting  of  three  mounted 
Indians,  rushing  madly  on,  followed  by  the  detach 
ments  that  had  been  sent  over.  We  had  proceeded 
but  a  short  distance,  when  Carson  ordered  our  force 
to  move  on  more  rapidly,  and  strike  the  Indian  vil 
lage  before  they  should  become  fully  alarmed,  while 
he  himself,  with  Lieutenant  Heath's  detachment, 
remained  as  escort  to  the  battery,  the  carriages  of 


18  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

which  were  so  small  that  the  cannoneers  could  not  be 
mounted,  consequently  they  could  not  move  as  fast 
as  the  rest  of  the  command,  which  was  composed 
entirely  of  cavalry,  it  being  remembered  that  the 
infantry  had  remained  behind  the  night  before,  at 
Mule  Creek,  as  escort  to  the  wagon  train.  It  was 
not  long  before  the  cavalry  had  disappeared  from  our 
sight,  as  we  were  now  in  the  middle  of  the  rich  val 
ley  of  the  Canadian  river,  which  was  here  about  two 
miles  in  width,  with  occasional  clumps  of  cotton- 
wood  trees,  and  covered  with  tall  dry  grass,  in  many 
places  high  above  our  heads  when  mounted  on  our 
horses.  In  fact,  I  remember  that  several  times  dur 
ing  that  morning,  when  riding  with  Colonel  Carson, 
and  keeping  up  a  conversation,  we  could  not  see 
each  other,  the  tall  dry  grass  intervening.  This  tall 
grass  and  an  occasional  clump  of  drift-wood,  which 
had  been  formed  by  previous  freshets  of  the  river, 
made  hard  work  for  us  to  get  along  with  the  moun 
tain  howitzers.  The  carriages  having  low  wheels, 
and  tracking  very  narrow,  the  most  constant  care 
and  attention  would  not  prevent  their  occasional  cap 
sizing  and  consequent  delay  in  righting  up  again. 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  19 

We  were  an  hour  probably  in  getting  through  this 
wilderness,  and  getting  out  on  to  clear,  hard,  unob 
structed  earth  again,  by  which  time  we  could  hear, 
far  in  advance,  rifle  shots  thick  and  fast.  The  quick, 
sharp  command,  "Trot  —  MARCH,"  would  be  given 
to  the  battery,  which  would  move  out  at  a  trot  for  a 
few  hundred  yards,  when  the  dismounted  cannoneers 
would  soon  be  left  stringing  out  a  long  way  to  the 
rear;  "Walk — MARCH,"  would  be  resumed,  so  as 
to  allow  the  men  to  regain  their  places,  and  after 
allowing  them  a  short  time  to  regain  their  breath, 
the  same  movements  would  be  again  and  again  per 
formed. 

At  about  nine  o'clock,  the  firing  in  our  advance, 
which  was  becoming  more  rapid,  seemed  to  be  mov 
ing  forward  faster  than  we  were,  or  rather  it  seemed, 
that  every  minute,  the  distance  between  ourselves 
and  the  firing  parties  was  becoming  wider,  yet  we 
were  all  the  time  advancing.  We  now  came  upon  a 
large  number  of  cattle,  belonging  to  the  Kiowas,  that 
were  quietly  browsing  on  the  plain,  entirely  obliv 
ious  of  war's  destruction  in  their  midst.  Shortly 
after,  we  saw  a  number  of  our  Indians,  each  having 


20  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

his  own  separate  herd  of  from  twenty  to  fifty  of  the 
enemy's  ponies,  and  on  getting  them  a  short  distance 
away  from  each  other,  each  would  single  out  one  of 
the  best  of  his  respective  herd,  dismount,  and  plac 
ing  his  riding  outfit  upon  his  new  steed,  would  leave 
his  own  worn  out  pony  to  mark  his  individual  prop 
erty,  expecting  that  the  fight"would  be  over  in  a  few 
minutes,  when  they  were  to  return,  and  according 
to  their  terms  of  contract  for  the  campaign,  each 
would  have  his  own  separate  herd  of  horses,  which 
he  had  collected,  and  which  was  marked  by  the  horse 
left  by  him. 

A  long  low  hill,  running  from  the  foothills  across 
the  valley  of  the  Canadian  to  the  river,  which  was 
here  forced  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  next 
met  our  view,  over  the  top  of  which  could  be  seen  a 
large  number  of  what  I  supposed  to  be  Sibley  tents 
from  their  shape  and  whiteness,  and  I  so  expressed 
my  opinion  to  Colonel  Carson,  who  informed  me 
that  they  were  Indian  lodges  made  of  buffalo  hide, 
whitened  by  a  process  practiced  by  all  the  Indians 
on  the  plains.  I  do  not  remember  of  having  been 
deceived  at  any  time  as  I  was  by  these  lodges  ;  posi- 


COMANCHE    AND   KIOWA    INDIANS.  21 

five  I  was  that  they  were  Sibley  tents,  and  this  opin 
ion  was  also  that  of  my  enlisted  men — buffalo  lodges 
are  not  used  by  the  mountain  Indians— but  in  the 
next  minute  we  passed  through  the  centre  of  this  vil 
lage,  when  we  were  fully  satisfied. 

Our  advance,  which  was  a  long  way  ahead  of  us, 
had  surprised  the  Kiowas  in  their  lodges  which 
formed  this  village.  The  bucks  or  males  had  seized 
their  weapons  and  ammunition  and  retreated  down 
the  river  followed  by  our  men,  the  women  and  chil 
dren,  before  we  came  up,  had  also  deserted  the  vil 
lage  and  were  hidden  in  the  foothills  on  our  left, 
which  we  knew  nothing  of,  unfortunately,  as  they 
had  an  American  woman  and  two  children  with  them, 
being  the  widow  and  children  of  a  sergeant  of  Colo 
rado  volunteers  who  had  been  killed  in  the  early  part 
of  the  season  in  western  Kansas. 

The  firing  continued  in  our  front.  Carson  said  to 
me  that  we  should  proceed,  and  if  the  fight  was  not 
over  when  we  arrived  it  would  soon  be,  when  we 
would  all  return  and  burn  the  lodges.  At  the  same 
time,  he  threw  his  heavy  military  overcoat  on  a  bush 
alongside  the  road,  and  advised  me  to  do  the  same, 


22  KIT  CAKSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

as  we  should  return  in  a  few  minutes  and  get  them 
again.  I  did  not  do  it,  however.  Some  of  my  men 
wished  to  take  their  overcoats  and  blankets  from 
the  guns  and  leave  them,  but  I  would  not  allow  them 
to  do  so,  and  for  once,  my  judgment  was  better  than 
Carson's,  for  he  never  saw  that  coat  of  his  again, 
while  my  own  and  those  of  my  men  did  good  ser 
vice  afterwards.  But  as  we  pushed  on,  the  firing 
seemed  no  nearer,  until  after  we  had  made  about 
four  miles  from  the  village,  when  we  saw  our  men, 
dismounted  and  deployed  as  skirmishers,  with  their 
horses  corralled  in  an  old,  deserted,  adobe  building, 
known  by  all  frontiersmen  as  the  Adobe  Walls. 
When  we  were  within  about  a  thousand  yards  of 
this  point,  Carson,  with  Lieutenant  Heath  and  his 
detachment,  put  spurs  to  their  horses  and  charged 
forward  to  join  in  the  fray.  My  men  seemed  to  get 
new  life,  and  forgot  all  their  fatigues,  at  the  pros 
pect  of  going  into  action,  and  but  a  few  minutes 
elapsed  before  we  came  into  the  centre  of  the  field 
at  a  gallop,  and  touching  my  cap  to  Carson,  I  re 
ceived  from  him  the  following  order:  "Pettis, 
throw  a  few  shell  into  that  crowd  over  thar."  The 


COMANCME    AND   KIOWA    INDIANS.  23 

next  moment,   "Battery,  halt!    action  right, — load 
with  shell — LOAD  !"  was  ordered. 

It  was  now  near  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the 
sky  was  not  obscured  by  a  single  cloud,  and  the  sun 
was  shining  in  all  its  brightness.  Within  a  hundred 
yards  of  the  corralled  horses  in  the  Adobe  Walls, 
was  a  small  symmetrical  conical  hill  of  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet  elevation,  while  in  all  directions  extended 
a  level  plain.  Carson,  McCleave,  and  a  few  other 
officers,  occupied  the  summit,  when  the  battery  ar 
rived  and  took  position  nearly  on  the  top.  Our 
cavalry  was  dismounted  and  deployed  as  skirmishers 
in  advance,  lying  in  tall  grass,  and  firing  an  occa 
sional  shot  at  the  enemy.  Our  Indians,  mounted 
and  covered  with  paint  and  feathers,  were  charging 
backwards  and  forwards  and  shouting  their  war  cry, 
and  in  their  front  were  about  two  hundred  Coman- 
ches  and  Kiowas,  equipped  as  they  themselves  were, 
charging  in  the  same  manner,  with  their  bodies 
thrown  over  the  sides  of  their  horses,  at  a  full  run, 
and  shooting  occasionally  under  their  horses'  necks, 
while  the  main  body  of  the  enemy,  numbering  twelve 
or  fourteen  hundred,  with  a  dozen  or  more  chiefs  rid- 


24  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

ing  up  and  down  their  line  haranguing  them,  seemed 
to  be  preparing  for  a  desperate  charge  on  our  forces. 
Surgeon  Courtright  had  prepared  a  cor.ner  of  the 
Adobe  Walls  for  a  hospital,  and  was  busy,  with  his 
assistants,  in  attending  to  the  wants  of  half  a  dozen 
or  more  wounded.  Fortunately,  the  Adobe  Walls 
were  high  enough  to  protect  all  our  horses  from  the 
enemy's  rifles,  and  afford  ample  protection  to  our 
wounded.  Within  a  mile  of  us,  beyond  the  enemy, 
in  full  and  complete  view,  was  a  Comauche  village 
of  over  five  hundred  lodges,  which,  with  the  village 
that  we  had  captured,  made  about  seven  hundred 
lodges,  which  allowing  two  fighting  Indians  to  a 
lodge,  which  is  the  rule  on  the  frontier,  would  give 
us  fourteen  hundred  warriors  in  the  field  before  us. 

This  was  the  prospect  when  the  battery  came  on 
the  ground.  A  finer  sight  I  never  saw  before,  and 
probably  shall  never  see  again.  The  Indians  seemed 
to  be  astonished  when  the  pieces  came  up  at  a  gallop 
and  were  being  unlimbered.  The  pieces  were  loaded 
in  a  few  seconds  after  the  order  was  given,  and  were 
sighted  by  the  gunners,  when  the  command  "Number 
one — FIRE  ! "  was  given,  followed  quickly  by  "Num- 


COMANCIIE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  25 

ber  two  —  FIRE  !"  At  the  first  discharge,  every  one 
of  the  enemy,  those  that  were  charging  backwards 
and  forwards  on  their  horses  but  a  moment  before 
as  well  as  those  that  were  standing  in  line,  rose  high 
in  their  stirrups  and  gazed,  for  a  single  moment, 
with  astonishment,  then  guiding  their  horses'  heads 
away  from  us,  and  giving  one  concerted,  prolonged 
yell,  they  started  in  a  dead  run  for  their  village.  In 
fact  when  the  fourth  shot  was  fired  there  was  not  a 
single  enemy  within  the  extreme  range  of  the  how 
itzers.  Colonel  Carson  now  assured  us  that  the  fight 
ing  was  over,  and  that  the  enemy  would  not  make 
another  stand,  and  gave  orders  that  after  a  short  halt, 
to  allow  the  men  to  eat  something  and  to  water  our 
horses,  as  neither  man  nor  beast  had  received  any 
nourishment  since  supper  time  the  day  before,  we 
were  to  proceed  and  capture  the  Comanche  village 
before  us.  Accordingly  the  skirmishers  were  called 
in,  the  cavalry  horses  were  unsaddled,  the  artillery 
horses  unhitched  from  the  pieces,  and  all  taken  a 
hundred  yards  or  more  in  our  rear,  to  as  fine  a  run 
ning  brook  of  clear  cold  water  as  I  ever  saw  on  the 
frontiers.  The  horses  were  allowed  to  drink  their 
3 


26  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

fill,  and  then  each  one  was  picketed  with  a  long  lariat, 
or  rope,  to  eat  high,  rich,  uncropped  grass.  This 
accomplished,  the  officers  and  men  proceeded  to  fish 
from  the  inmost  recesses  of  their  haversacks,  such 
pieces  of  raw  bacon  and  broken  hard-bread  as  they 
had  been  fortunate  enough  to  capture  the  night  be 
fore  on  leaving  the  wagons.  Each  one  had  some 
thing  to  relate  about  the  day's  conflict,  and  each  one 
was  anxious  to  know  what  was  to  be  the  result  of 
the  day's  operations. 

Less  than  half  an  hour  had  elapsed,  and  Carson 
had  not,  as  yet,  given  the  order  to  saddle  up,  when 
the  enemy  were  returning  and  seemed  to  be  anxious 
to  renew  the  conflict.  Presently  the  order  came  to 
saddle  up,  the  artillery  horses  were  hitched  in  again, 
the  cavalry  horses  returned  to  the  inside  of  the 
Adobe  Walls,  the  sharp,  quick  whiz  of  the  Indians' 
rifle  balls  was  again  heard,  the  cavalrymen  were 
deployed  as  before,  and  the  fight  was  going  on  again 
in  earnest. 

During  this  fight,  which  lasted  all  the  afternoon, 
the  howitzers  were  fired  but  a  few  times,  as  the  ene 
my  were  shrewd  enough  to  know  that  their  policy 


COMANCHE   AND   KIOWA   INDIANS.  27 

was  to  act  singly  and  avoid  getting  into  masses, 
although  the  detachments  were  kept  on  the  field  in 
the  most  exposed  situations.  At  one  of  the  dis 
charges,  the  shell  passed  directly  through  the  body 
of  a  horse  on  which  was  a  Comanche  riding  at  a  full 
run,  and  went  some  two  or  three  hundred  yards 
further  on  before  it  exploded.  The  horse,  on  being 
struck,  went  head-foremost  to  earth,  throwing  his 
rider,  as  it  seemed,  twenty  feet  into  the  air  with  his 
hands  and  feet  sprawling  in  all  directions,  and  as  he 
struck  the  earth,  apparently  senseless,  two  other 
Indians  who  were  near  by,  proceeded  to  him,  one  on 
each  side,  and  throwing  themselves  over  on  the  sides 
of  their  horses,  seized  each  an  arm  and  dragged  him 
from  the  field  between  them,  amid  a  shower  of  rifle 
balls  from  our  skirmishers.  This  act  of  the  In 
dians  in  removing  their  dead  and  helpless  wounded 
from  the  field  is  always  done,  and  more  than  a  score 
of  times  were  we  eye-witnesses  to  this  feat  during 
the  afternoon.  General  G.  A.  Custer,  in  his  "Life 
on  the  Plains,"  says  of  this  Indian  custom,  in-giving 
an  account  of  an  Indian  fight  near  Fort  Wallace,  in 
1867  :  "Those  of  the  savages  who  were  shot  from 


28  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

their  saddles  were  scarcely  permitted  to  fall  to  the 
ground,  before  a  score  or  more  of  their  comrades 
dashed  to  their  rescue,  and  bore  their  bodies  beyond 
the  possible  reach  of  our  men.  This  is  in  accord 
ance  with  the  Indian  custom  in  battle.  They  will 
risk  the  lives  of  a  dozen  of  their  best  warriors  to 
prevent  the  body  of  any  one  of  their  number  from 
falling  into  the  white  man's  possession.  The  reason 
for  this  is  the  belief,  which  generally  prevails  among 
all  the  tribes,  that  if  a  warrior  loses  his  scalp,  he 
forfeits  his  hope  of  ever  reaching  the  happy  hunting 
ground." 

But  to  return  again  to  my  story  :  Quite  a  number 
of  the  enemy  acted  as  skirmishers,  being  dismounted 
and  hid  in  the  tall  grass  in  our  front,  and  made  it  hot 
for  most  of  us  by  their  excellent  markmanship,  while 
quite  the  larger  part  of  them,  mounted  and  covered 
with  their  war  dresses,  charged  continually  across 
our  front,  from  right  to  left  and  vice  versa ,  about 
two  hundred  yards  from  our  line  of  skirmishers, 
yelling  like  demons,  and  firing  from  under  the  necks 
of  their  horses  at  intervals.  About  two  hundred 
yards  in  rear  of  their  line,  all  through  the  fighting 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  29 

at  the  Adobe  Walls,  was  stationed  one  of  the  enemy 
who  had  a  cavalry  bugle,  and  during  the  entire  day 
he  would  blow  the  opposite  call  that  was  used  by  the 
officer  in  our  line  of  skirmishers.  For  instance, 
when  our  bugles  sounded  the  "advance,"  he  would 
blow  "retreat"  ;  and  when  ours  sounded  the  "retreat," 
he  would  follow  with  the  "advance";  ours  would 
signal  "halt";  he  would  follow  suit.  So  he  kept  it 
up  all  the  day,  blowing  as  shrill  and  clearly  as  our 
very  best  buglers.  Carson  insisted  that  it  was  a 
white  man,  but  I  have  never  received  any  informa 
tion  to  corroborate  this  opinion.  All  I  know  is,  that 
he  would  answer  our  signals  each  time  they  were 
sounded,  to  the  infinite  merriment  of  our  men,  who 
would  respond  with  shouts  of  laughter  each  time  he 
sounded  his  horn. 

The  course  of  the  river  could  be  discerned  east- 
wardly  at  least  a  dozen  miles,  and  there  were  seve 
ral  of  the  enemy's  villages  in  that  direction.  We 
could  see  them  approaching  all  the  afternoon,  in 
parties  of  from  five  to  fifty,  and  it  was  estimated 
that  there  were  at  least  three  thousand  Indians  op 
posed  to  us, —  more  than  ten  to  one.  During  the 


30  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

afternoon,  parties  of  the  enemy  could  be  seen  at  a 
distance  of  two  or  three  miles  on  either  side,  going 
to  the  village  that  we  passed  through  in  the  morning, 
and  they  succeeded  in  getting  all  the  stock  that  they 
had  left,  in  securing  such  valuables  as  had  been  left 
by  them  in  their  lodges,  and  they  also  secured  their 
women  and  children  and  carried  them  to  places  of 
safety. 

The  safety  of  our  own  wagon  train  now  began  to 
be  considered,  as  there  were  only  seventy-five  men 
left  with  it,  and  it  was  feared  that  it  might  be  cap 
tured  by  the  large  number  of  Indians  that  had  passed 
to  our  rear.  The  most  of  our  officers  were  anxious 
to  press  on  and  capture  the  village  immediately  in 
our  front,  and  Carson  was  at  one  time  about  to  give 
orders  to  that  effect,  when  our  Indians  prevailed 
upon  him  to  return  and  completely  destroy  the  vil 
lage  that  we  had  already  captured,  and  after  finding 
our  supply  train,  replenishing  our  ammunition,  and 
leaving  our  wounded,  we  could  come  back  again 
and  finish  this  village  to  our  satisfaction.  After 
some  hesitation  and  against  the  wishes  of  most  of  his 
officers,  at  about  half-past  three  Carson  gave  orders 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  31 

to  bring  out  the  cavalry  horses,  and  formed  a  column 
of  fours, — the  number  four  man  of  each  set  of  fours 
to  lead  the  other  three  horses,  —  with  the  moun 
tain  howitzers  to  bring  up  the  rear  of  the  column. 
The  balance  of  the  command  was  thrown  out  as  skir 
mishers  on  the  front,  rear  and  on  both  flanks,  and  we 
commenced  our  return  march.  The  enemy  was  not 
disposed  to  allow  us  to  return  without  molestation, 
and  in  a  very  few  minutes  was  attacking  us  on  every 
side.  By  setting  fire  to  the  high,  dry  grass  of  the 
river  bottom  they  drove  us  to  the  foot-hills,  and  by 
riding  in  rear  of  the  fire  as  it  came  burning  towards 
us,  they  would  occasionally  get  within  a  few  yards 
of  the  column  ;  being  enveloped  in  the  smoke,  they 
would  deliver  the  fire  of  their  rifles  and  get  out  of 
harm's  way  before  they  could  be  discovered  by  us. 

During  the  morning's  fight  at  the  Adobe  Walls,  a 
young  Mexican  boy,  about  eighteen  or  nineteen 
years  of  age,  belonging  to  one  of  the  New  Mexican 
companies,  was  out  on  the  line  of  skirmishers,  and 
as  he  was  crawling  forward,  in  reaching  out  his  right 
hand  he  placed  it  over  the  hole  of  a  rattlesnake  and 
was  bitten  on  the  little  finger.  He  passed  near  me, 


32 

as  he  came  away  from  the  line  to  find  the  Surgeon, 
and  as  he  was  holding  up  his  hand,  I  supposed  that 
he  was  wounded  in  that  member,  and  said  to  him  in 
Spanish,  "Quehay  !  que  tienes?" — "Here  you,  what's 
the  matter?"  He  replied,  " Un  bibora  !"—" Rattle 
snake."  He  passed  into  the  Adobe  Walls,  where 
the  Surgeon  was  located,  who  dressed  his  hand  and 
gave  him  a  good  stiff  drink  of  whiskey.  In  a  few 
minutes  he  returned  to  the  skirmish  line,  where  he 
remained  until  our  return.  His  company  was  now 
on  our  left  flank,  and  after  we  had  completed  about 
a  mile  of  our  return  march,  a  Comanche  rode  up  to 
us  in  a  cloud  of  smoke,  when  a  sudden  gust  of  wind 
left  him  completely  exposed  within  twenty  feet  of 
the  boy  who  had  been  bitten  by  the  snake.  They 
both,  at  the  same  moment,  brought  their  rifles  to 
their  cheeks.  The  Indian  fired  a  second  before  the 
other,  and  missed  his  mark, — the  boy  immediately 
returned  the  fire,  hit  his  enemy  in  some  vital  part, 
(he  instantly  fell  from  off  his  horse,)  and  rushed  for- 
ward  to  secure  his  scalp.  Some  ten  or  fifteen  of  the 
Comanches  who  were  near,  saw  their  friend  fall  and 
rushed  forward  on  their  horses  to  secure  the  body 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  33 

and  bear  it  away  out  of  our  reach,  as  they  had  done 
a  great  many  times  during  the  day.  The  comrades 
of  the  Mexican  soldier  went  to  his  assistance,  kept 
the  enemy  at  bay  until  he  had  finished  the  scalping 
operation,  and  then  returned  to  their  places  in  the 
skirmish  line.  This  boy  took  the  only  scalp  that  our 
party  secured  during  the  whole  day's  fight.  During 
this  return  march  the  howitzer  in  rear  of  the  column 
succeeded  in  getting  in  a  shell  three  several  times  on 
groups  of  the  enemy. 

Just  before  sundown  we  reached  the  village,  which 
we  found  full  of  Indians  trying  to  save  their  prop 
erty  from  destruction.  A  couple  of  shells,  followed 
by  a  charge  of  our  men,  drove  them  into  the  far  end 
of  it,  when  the  work  of  destruction  commenced, 
about  half  of  the  command  being  detailed  to  set  fire 
to  the  lodges,  while  the  rest  of  us  were  to  keep  the 
enemy  in  check.  A  small  sand  hill  about  twenty 
feet  high  was  taken  advantage  of  for  the  howitzers, 
and  served  as  earthworks  for  the  detachment.  The 
pieces  were  loaded  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  at  the 
command  of  "By  hand,  to  the  front,"  they  were 
pushed  to  the  top,  when  the  gunner  would  aim  the 


34  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

piece,  and  at  the  command  "ready"  number  four 
would  insert  the  friction  primer,  and  lying  on  his 
stomach,  with  no  part  of  his  body  exposed,  would 
wait  for  the  command  to  fire.  The  piece  on  being 
fired  would  recoil,  sometimes  tumbling  over  and 
over  and  at  others  coming  down  fairly  on  the  wheels 
to  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  when  the  other  piece,  having 
been  loaded  meanwhile,  would  be  moved  to  the  top 
and  fired  in  its  turn.  The  lodges  were  found  to  be 
full  of  plunder,  including  many  hundreds  of  finely 
finished  buffalo  robes.  Every  man  in  the  command 
took  possession  of  one  or  more  of  these,  while  the 
balance  were  consumed  in  the  lodges.  There  were 
found  some  white  women's  clothing,  as  well  as 
articles  of  children's  clothing,  and  several  photo 
graphs  ;  also  a  cavalry  sergeant's  hat,  with  letter  and 
cross-sabres,  cavalry  sabre  and  belts,  etc.,  being  the 
accoutrements  of  the  Colorado  volunteer  sergeant  of 
which  I  have  spoken  before.  We  also  burned  an 
army  ambulance  and  government  wagon,  with  seve 
ral  sets  of  harnesses,  which  the  Kiowas  had  retained 
from  some  wagon  train  they  had  captured  during  the 
previous  summer. 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  35 

I  had  forgotten  to  mention  that  with  our  seventy- 
two  Utes  and  Apaches  there  were  two  old  squaws, 
and  the  purpose  for  which  they  had  accompanied  the 
party  had  been  a  mystery  to  our  men,  but  we  ascer 
tained  now.  It  is  well  known  to  all  frontiersmen 
that  the  mutilation  of  dead  bodies  (and  they  are 
often  found  mutilated  so  indecently  that  I  cannot 
describe  it  here  —  a  dozen  times  or  more  I  have 
been  eye-witness  to  this  kind  of  mutilation  my 
self,)  is  always  the  work  of  the  squaws.  When  we 
passed  the  village  in  the  morning,  these  two  squaws 
were  in  these  lodges,  unknown  to  us,  seeking  for 
plunder.  In  the  course  of  their  search,  they  had 
found  two  old,  decrepit,  blind  Kiowas  and  two  crip 
ples,  who  were  unable  to  get  out  of  their  lodges 
when  they  were  deserted  by  their  people,  and  our 
two  squaws  soon  placed  them  hors-du-combat,  by 
cleaving  their  heads  with  axes.  All  four  of  these 
were  found  by  our  men  when  they  were  burning  the 
village,  the  squaws  themselves  showing  the  men 
where  they  were,  and  claiming  the  merit  of  their 
slaughter. 

The  Comanches  and  Kiowas   were   driven  from 


36  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

lodge  to  lodge  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the  vil 
lage,  and  on  reaching  the  last  one,  the  party,  uum- 
ing  some  thirty  or  forty,  mounted  their  horses,  and 
at  a  run  made  from  us  towards  the  river,  a  twelve- 
pounder  shell,  the  last  shot  fired  in  the  fight,  explod 
ing  in  their  midst,  as  a  parting  salute,  just  as  the  sun 
was  setting  in  the  western  horizon.  The  work  of 
destruction  was  soon  finished, —  every  one  of  the  one 
hundred  and  seventy-six  lodges,  with  their  contents, 
were  consumed,  together  with  the  ambulance,  wagon 
and  harnesses  before  mentioned. 

It  was  some  time  after  dark  when  the  cavalrymen 
had  mounted  their  horses  and  had  formed  the  col 
umn  to  return.  The  two  gun  carriages  and  the  two 
ammunition  carts  were  loaded  with  the  most  severely 
wounded,  while  the  slightly  wounded  retained  their 
horses.  The  march  now  became  the  most  unpleas 
ant  part  of  the  day's  operations.  The  wounded  were 
suffering  severely ;  the  men  and  horses  were  com 
pletely  worn  out ;  the  enemy  might  attack  us  at  any 
moment,  unseen ;  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  where 
abouts  and  condition  of  our  wagon  train,  for  you  will 
remember  that  we  were  now  nearly  two  hundred  and 


COMANCFIE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  37 

fifty  miles  from  the  nearest  habitation,  or  hopes  of 
supply,  with  the  whole  Comanche  and  Kiowa  nations 
at  our  heels, —  all  combined  to  make  it  anything  but 
a  pleasant  situation  to  be  in.  We  had  been  moving 
slowly  on  our  return  from  the  destroyed  village 
about  three  hours,  when  we  saw  away  off  on  our 
right  several  camp  fires  burning  dimly,  and  approach 
ing  cautiously,  we  were  soon  welcomed  by  the  chal 
lenge  of  a  sentinel,  in  good,  clear,  ringing  Saxon, 
"Who  comes  there?"  This  was  answered  by  our 
men  with  cheers,  for  we  were  now  assured  that  our 
supply  train  was  intact,  and  that  starvation  would  be 
averted  for  a  season  at  least.  But  a  few  minutes 
elapsed  before  we  were  in  camp,  the  Surgeon  made 
the  wounded  as  comfortable  as  possible,  the  horses 
were  unsaddled  and  unhitched  from  the  pieces  and 
fastened  to  the  picket  line,  a  double  guard  was  put 
on,  and  then  for  blankets  and  sleep,  hunger  being 
forgotten  in  our  weariness. 

This  ended  the  day's  work.  The  command  had 
been  nearly  thirty  hours  marching  and  fighting,  with 
an  intermission  of  less  than  half  an  hour,  and  with 
no  other  refreshment  than  that  afforded  by  a  single 


38  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

hard-bread,  and  small  piece  of  salt  pork.  The  cas 
ualties  of  the  day  on  our  part  were  but  two  killed, 
privates  John  O'Donnell  and  John  Sullivan,  of  Com 
pany  M,  First  California  Cavalry,  with  twenty-one 
wounded,  two  or  three  of  whom  died  afterwards 
from  the  effects  of  their  wounds.  One  of  our  Utes 
was  killed  and  four  wounded.  The  loss  to  the  Co- 
manches  and  Kiowas,  was  their  village  of  one  hun 
dred  and  seventy-six  lodges,  buffalo  robes,  and  all  of 
their  winter's  provisions,  with  nearly  one  hundred 
killed,  and  between  one  hundred  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  wounded. 

Our  wagon  train  had  left  camp  at  Mule  Creek  very 
early  in  the  morning,  had  followed  our  trail  as  well 
as  they  could,  and  all  day  long  had  heard  the  how 
itzers  each  time  they  were  fired.  They  knew  that 
we  were  engaged  with  the  enemy,  and  the  train  was 
kept  in  continuous  motion,  hoping  to  reach  us  before 
the  day  closed ;  but  night  set  in  on  them,  and  Colo 
nel  Abreii  selected  a  good  place  for  defence  and 
went  into  camp  where  we  found  them,  they  not  hav 
ing  been  molested  by  the  Indians,  although  several 
parties  were  seen  by  them  during  the  day. 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  39 

As  the  usual  time  for  an  Indian  attack  is  just  be 
fore  daybreak,  reveille  was  sounded  at  an  early  hour 
on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-sixth,  the  command 
was  distributed  for  an  attack,  but  the  sun  soon  rose 
upon  us  awaiting  the  onset.  As  none  of  the  enemy 
were  discovered,  the  officers  and  men,  now  that 
they  had  been  refreshed  by  undisturbed  slumber, 
bethought  themselves  of  their  stomachs,  and  I  doubt 
if  there  was  ever  a  heartier  breakfast  disposed  of; 
all  of  the  wild  turkeys  and  antelope  meat  on  hand 
were  devoured, —  calling  upon  the  hunters  to  do 
their  duty  again.  Our  Indians  were  so  tired  the 
night  before  that  they  adjourned  their  "scalp  dance," 
and  sought  the  comfort  of  their  buffalo  robes ;  but, 
as  we  had  been  entertained  every  night  until  the  fight 
by  their  "war  dance,"  so  for  twenty-one  days  after, 
or  as  long  as  they  remained  with  us,  the  monotony 
of  the  march  was  diversified  by  their  own  peculiar 
"scalp  dance,"  and  that  with  only  one  scalp,  which 
they  had  purchased  of  the  Mexican  soldier  whose 
exploit  I  have  before  mentioned. 

We  remained  in  camp  during  the  day  to  allow  the 
men  and  animals  to  recuperate,  and  never  was  needed 


40  KIT  CARSON'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE 

rest  more  welcome.  The  enemy  did  not  seem  dis 
posed  to  molest  us,  but  remained  in  full  view,  on  an 
eminence  about  two  miles  to  the  eastward  of  us. 
The  only  incident  of  the  day  worthy  of  mention 
was,  that  during  the  afternoon  two  of  our  Indians, 
mounted,  rode  out  leisurely  on  the  plain  towards  the 
Comanches ;  presently  two  of  the  enemy  left  their 
party  and  rode  towards  us,  when  another  party  of 
ten  or  a  do/en  left  our  camp,  and  then  the  same  num 
ber  left  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  like  boys  playing  at 
goal,  and  then  another  party  from  our  camp,  followed 
by  a  like  party  from  the  enemy,  until  there  were 
over  two  hundred  men  of  both  sides  moving  at  a 
walk  towards  each  other  in  the  centre  of  the  plain. 
The  leading  parties  of  each  side  had  approached  each 
other  until  only  about  two  hundred  yards  of  space 
intervened,  when  shooting  commenced,  but  before  a 
dozen  shots  had  been  exchanged  the  entire  body  of 
the  enemy  turned  their  horses'  heads  towards  their 
camp,  and  left  on  a  run,  followed  by  our  people  for 
a  short  distance,  who  afterwards  returned  to  camp 
unharmed. 

Reveille  was  sounded  early  on  the  morning  of  the 


COMANCHE    AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.  41 

twenty -seventh,  and  after  breakfast  orders  were  is 
sued  by  Colonel  Carson  to  saddle  up,  and  commence 
the  return  march,  much  to  the  surprise  and  dissatis 
faction  of  all  the  officers,  who  desired  to  go  to  the 
Comanche  village  that  we  had  been  in  sight  of  on  the 
day  of  the  fight.  It  was  learned  afterwards  that  our 
Indians  had  advised  Carson  to  return,  and  without 
consulting  his  officers  the  order  was  given  and  we 
commenced  our  return  march. 

We  arrived  at  Fort  Bascom  on  or  about  the  twen 
tieth  of  December  without  being  molested  by  the 
enemy,  where  we  remained  a  few  days,  when  orders 
were  received  from  the  Department  Commander  for 
the  different  detachments  to  return  to  various  posts 
in  the  Territory,  and  as  the  term  of  enlistment  of 
the  most  of  the  men  of  my  detachment  had  expired, 
I  was  ordered  to  Fort  Union,  where  we  arrived 
shortly  after,  on  New  Year's  day,  1865. 

General  Orders,  No.  4,  Department  of  New  Mex 
ico,  dated  Headquarters,  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  February 
18,  1865,  which  gives  a  detailed  account  of  every 
operation  with  the  Indians  in  that  department  for 
the  entire  year  of  1864,  says,  on  page  10,  under  date 
of  November  twenty-fifth  :  — 


42  KIT    CAKSON'S   FIGHT   WITH    THE 

"Colonel  Christopher  Carson,  First  Cavalry,  New  Mexico 
Volunteers,  with  a  command  consisting  of  fourteen  commis 
sioned  officers  and  three  hundred  and  twenty-one  enlisted  men 
and  seventy-five  Indians, — Apaches  and  Utes  —  attacked  a  Kiowa 
village  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  lodges,  near  the  Adobe 
Fort,  on  the  Canadian  river,  in  Texas  •,  and,  after  a  severe  fight, 
compelled  the  Indians  to  retreat,  with  a  loss  of  sixty  killed 
and  wounded.  The  village  was  then  destroyed.  The  engage 
ment  commenced  at  8.30  A.  M.,  and  lasted  without  intermission 
until  sunset. 

"In  this  fight,  privates  John  O'Donnell  and  John  Sullivan,  of 
Company  M,  First  Cavalry,  California  Volunteers,  were  killed, 
and  Corporal  N.  Newman,  privates  Thomas  Briggs,  J.  Jamison, 

Mapes,  Jaspar  Vincent  and  J.  Horsley,  of  Company  B,  and 

Holygrapher,  of  Company  G,  First  Cavalry,  California  Vol 
unteers,  Antonio  Duro  and  Antonio  Qauches,  of  Company  M, 
and  H.  Romero,  of  Company  I,  First  Cavalry,  New  Mexico  Vol 
unteers,  were  wounded.  Four  Utes  were  wounded. 

"  Colonel  Carson,  in  his  report  mentions  the  following  officers 
as  deserving  the  highest  praise  :  Major  McCleave,  Captain  Fritz 
and  Lieutenant  Heath,  of  the  First  Cavalry,  California  Volun 
teers  ;  Captains  Deus  and  Berney,  First  Cavalry,  New  Mexico 
Volunteers ;  Lieutenant  Pettis,  First  Infantry,  California  Volun 
teers  ;  Lieutenant  Edgar,  First  Cavalry,  New  Mexico  Volunteers, 
and  Assistant  Surgeon  George  T.  Courtright,  United  States 
Volunteers. 

"The  command  destroyed  one  hundred  and  fifty  lodges  of  the 
best  manufacture,  a  large  amount  of  dried  meats,  berries,  buf 
falo  robes,  powder,  cooking  utensils,  etc.,  also,  a  buggy  and 


COMANCHE    AND    K1OWA    INDIANS.  43 

spring  wagou,  the  property  of  *  Sierrito,'  or  *  Little  Mountain,' 
the  Kiowa  Chief." 

In  1867,  about  three  years  after  the  events  nar 
rated  here,  I  was  residing  in  a  little  Mexican  village 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  Los  Algodones,  about  forty-five 
miles  south  of  Santa  Fe,  where  I  became  acquainted 
with  a  couple  of  Mexicans  who  were  trading  with 
the  Comanche  and  Kiowa  Indians  in  the  fall  of  1864, 
and  they  informed  me  that  they  were  at  the  Coman 
che  village  which  we  were  in  sight  of,  and  that  when 
the  fight  commenced  they  were  held  as  prisoners  and 
kept  so  for  several  days  after  we  left  that  neighbor 
hood  ;  that  in  the  village  on  the  day  of  the  fight 
there  were  seven  white  women  and  several  white 
children,  prisoners ;  they  also  informed  me  where 
the  women  and  children  of  the  village  were  hid 
when  we  passed  through  the  Kiowa  village  on  the 
morning  of  the  fight,  and  that  our  enemy  sustained 
a  loss  on  that  day,  of  nearly  a  hundred  killed  and 
between  one  hundred  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
wounded,  making  a  difference  with  the  official  re 
port,  which  guessed  at  thirty  killed  and  thirty 
wounded.  They  also  said  that  the  Indians  claimed 


44  KIT  CARSON'S  TIGHT. 

that  if  the  whites  had  not  had  with  them  the  two 
"guns  that  shot  twice,"  referring  to  the  shells  of  the 
mountain  howitzers,  they  would  never  have  allowed 
a  single  white  man  to  escape  out  of  the  valley  of  the 
Canadian,  and  I  may  say,  with  becoming  modesty, 
that  this  was  also  the  often  expressed  opinion  of 
Colonel  Carson. 


PERSONAL    NARRATIVES 


BATTLES  OF  THE  REBELLION. 


A  series  of  Papers  which  has  been  delivered  before  the  Rhode 
Island  Soldiers  and  Sailors  Historical  Society  in  Providence,  and  is 
being  published  under  the  general  heading,  "Personal  Narratives  of  the- 
Battles  of  the  Rebellion."  The  following  have  already  appeared  : 

No.  1. — THE   FIRST   CAMPAIGN  OF  THK  SKCOXD  KIIODK    ISLAND    INFANTRY.     By 

Elisha  H.  Rhodes.      pp.  20.      Price,  35  cents. 
No.  2.— THE   UIIOI>E  ISLAND  ARTILLERY   AT  THK   FIRST   BATTLE   OF    HILL  KIN. 

By  ,1.  Albert  Monroe.      pp.  31.      Price,  35  cents. 

NO.   3.— REMINISCENCES     OF     SERVICE     IN     THE     FIRST     RHODE     ISLAND     CAVALRY.. 

By  George  X.  liliss.       pp.  32.       Price,  .'55  cents. 
No.  4.  — MY   FIRST  CRUISE   AT   SEA  AND  THE   Loss  OF  THE  IROX-CLAD  MONITOR.. 

By  Frank  B.  Butts.      pp.  23.       Price,  35  cents. 
No.  5.  —  KIT   CARSON'S   FIGHT   WITH   THE  COMANCIIE   AND    KIOWA    INDIANS.      By 

George  H.  Pettis.      pp.  44.      Price,  40  cents. 
* 

The  style  of  these  papers  is  graphic,  simple  and  unpretending,, 
the  narrators  intend  to  present  only  such  scenes  as  they  were  personally 
witnesses  of.  The  editions  have  been  limited  to  250  copies  each  —  smalt 
quarto  —  elegantly  printed  —  uniformly  for  the  purpose  of  binding. 

SIDNEY    S.  RIDER, 

Publisher, 

Providence. 


